Improving process evaluations of correctional programs by using a comprehensive evaluation methodology

A comprehensive methodology was developed for use in a series of process evaluations of seven therapeutic communities (TC's) for drug-involved offenders. Experiences garnered during these evaluations are related here to underscore the need for combined evaluation methodologies in order to provide an accurate picture of actual program implementation. Comparisons are made between the types of data generated from each of several diverse data collection methods, not between programs themselves. These seven TC's were housed in six short-term jail-facilities and a relatively larger, long-term prison setting. The jail facility programs were subjected to short-term observations (4-5 days each), while the prison-based program was observed over a 12-week period. The comprehensive evaluation methodology employed traditional stakeholder interviews, (with clinicians, correctional officers, and administrators) officially recorded measures of program implementation, (such as drug test and graduated sanction administration) and a newly developed structured observation technique, which captured the nature of the treatment being delivered through direct observation of treatment activities. A discussion of the type and quality of information available from each technique alone is presented, as are the proposed benefits of the comprehensive methodology, in terms of providing more accurate and detailed information on correctional program implementation, generally.